Elle looked dubious. ‘I’m sure it’s easy enough to find. I suppose we could take a look – we might as well do something while we’re here. But on one condition,’ she said, holding out her little finger.

‘What’s that?’ Penny enquired, wide-eyed at this unexpected resurrection of their old childhood ritual.

‘No more internet meet-ups. Promise?’

Chuckling aloud, her little sister held up a finger in return, sealing the vow.

‘A great haul!’ Penny grinned happily an hour or so later. She waved the shopping bag from Classic Records in front of her, satisfaction rippling through her body. ‘Paul McCartney impersonator or not, I’m glad that little change in plans paid off.’

The pair had been successful in not only finding the record shop and getting the attention of the owner, but also in snagging an invitation to the back room to peruse through some of the rarer albums.

In all, they had been able to acquire three more on their list: Beatles for Sale, Rubber Soul and Something New. All were first editions, and based on Colin’s checklist they were confident that all were definitely authentic, and the shop’s owner had assured them of a full money-back guarantee if found otherwise.

‘So how is your list looking now?’ Elle asked, happy to see Penny with such a bright smile on her face.

‘Ah, I nearly forgot. I think that might be the best part – crossing more of these off the list.’ She extracted from her handbag the piece of paper that she was now carrying with her everywhere.

Please Please Me

With the Beatles

Beatlemania! With the Beatles

Introducing . . . the Beatles

Meet the Beatles!

Twist and Shout

The Beatles’ Second Album

The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally

A Hard Day’s Night

Something New

Beatles for Sale

Beatles ’65

Beatles VI

Help!

Anna (Go to Him) Single

Rubber Soul

Yesterday and Today

Revolver

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles

Yellow Submarine

Abbey Road

Let It Be

Wow, Elle thought in wonderment, realising just how much Penny had achieved in such a short space of time. Perhaps there was hope after all.

Chapter 26

Later that evening, when she and Penny returned from Galway, Elle wandered through the rooms of the hotel, assessing the magnitude of what she was considering.

The adrenaline rush of her sudden return was gradually faltering, and in the cold light of day she was now beginning to have second thoughts.

Was it even possible? Could the hotel be tidied up in time? Of course, the main question was the roof. They couldn’t have people turning up here with it looking like that; everyone would think the whole place was about to collapse.